


Only Those Who Have Known Death

by SunshineScorpius



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Healing, M/M, Thestrals, just a bit of drabble, lets talk about death, mention of craig bowker jr, mentions of Astoria Greengrass, recovering from past trauma, the consequences of time travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 22:11:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18882253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunshineScorpius/pseuds/SunshineScorpius
Summary: From the darkness of death there is light in the shape of a creature. They aren't dangerous, or unlucky and Albus - still not recovered from watching his fellow classmate die - learns this soon enough.





	Only Those Who Have Known Death

It took Albus by complete surprise.

It was fifth year. It was supposed to be their year. They had it all planned out – new clubs, Quidditch, trying to make friends. No more time-turning. No more arguments with his dad. They’d still be friends, best friends, boyfriends, whatever title they wanted to give themselves. And they’d try all these new things together because that was how they always did things.

But, the start of the year just _had_ to start with an omen of death, didn’t it?

He saw flashes of green behind his eyes, the fall of Craig Bowker Jr’s body as it collided with the Quidditch pitch. He barely had time to think about it then. He barely registered a boy had been murdered. It never really hit him until he returned and the Slytherin’s were in mourning.

A boy had lost his life.

A young boy, with so much ahead of him. And now he was dead. And it was all Albus’ fault.

He should have expected to see the creature, but it hadn’t occurred to him. He’d only ever learnt about them from Scorpius, who had a fascination with all things creatures.

Now, as he watched Scorpius stroke the skeletal creature, pale hand a stark contrast to it’s black bony physique, the fascination made complete sense.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Scorpius spoke, glancing between Albus and the creature, a small smile on his lips. Albus wondered how he could be smiling, because smiling was the furthest thing from Albus’ mind. “Come on,” Scorpius encouraged, holding out his free hand – the one that wasn’t stroking the Thestral.

Albus took a deep breath, but walked slowly forward and took his hand, because he could never resist Scorpius when he looked at him like that.

“They aren’t dangerous, you know?” His voice had a faraway feel to it, much like his Aunt Luna, whose mind was always away with the fairies. Scorpius was much like her, especially in his fascination with all things broken that needed fixing – people and animals alike. “They aren’t unlucky either,” he added, somehow knowing exactly where Albus’ thoughts had gone.

But, they were linked to death. How can something linked to death not be unlucky?

Scorpius looked away from Albus and back at the creature before him, smiling as it nudged its horse-like nose against his cheek. Scorpius let out a chuckle, nudging his cheek back the way one would with a friendly house cat. Watching Scorpius be utterly and completely open, smiling and laughing with this creature, eased Albus’ nerves slightly.

“I always thought it’d be quite lonely,” Scorpius mused, stroking between the ears of the creature. This one was smaller than most, it must still be growing. “To be invisible to everyone but those who have seen death. I wonder if they can see each other,” he speculated, that distance to his tone once again.

“You seem quite comfortable,” Albus pointed out, finding his voice for the first time since stepping off the train. Scorpius turned to him, face slightly one of shock. A flash of knowing danced across his eyes, a realisation coming to mind. The Thestral nudged his cheek, annoyed at having the attention taken away from her.

“I’ve been able to see them for years,” he answered, watching as the realisation settled on Albus’ features. His mum. Of course.

“I’m sorry, I never thought about that,” Albus admitted, shamefully. He should have known. It must have been so hard for him. They never spoke about her much, but Albus knew there was a hole in his heart where Astoria Greengrass should be. No one, not even Albus, could fill that hole.

“Do you remember third year when I started staying after creatures class to help Hagrid?” Scorpius asked, turning his attention back to the Thestral.

“Yeah, I always thought it was because of your weird fascination with creatures,” he answered, half-teasing.

“It’s not weird,” Scorpius retorted, but the smile on his lips gave away his true intentions. “He would take me to the Thestrals, there wasn’t many students who could see them and wanted to spend time with them, so I started looking after them with him. This one’s Delilah,” he smiled, accepting a nudge from the creatures nose that he turned into a kiss with a peck of his lips.

“Delilah?” Albus asked, such a pretty name for a dark creature.

“I named her,” he said proudly. Carefully, he pulled Albus’ hand – the one he was holding – up to the creature, and gently placed it on the back of her neck. “They aren’t dangerous,” he said again, to reassure Albus. Delilah let out a huff of approval when Albus – with the help of Scorpius – gently stroked her. Underneath his fingers, she felt bony and scaly, and yet it was soft. Nice to stroke.

“She still young?” Albus asked, knowing Scorpius would be all too happy to talk about her. Around them, students were starting to pile into carriages, and Albus knew they would have to give up stroking her soon to hop in their own.

“No, she’s fully grown. I was there when she was born, and she was so tiny and odd. The runt of the litter. She reminded me of myself. There’s a white patch just underneath her neck, right here,” he pointed it out, “and Hagrid said it was like my hair.” He was smiling at the memory. “She was ill as a foal and it stunted her growth. But, she’s still pretty special.”

“She is,” Albus agreed, becoming bolder with his strokes.

“It’s not bad luck, Al, or a bad omen. How can something as beautiful as her be bad?” He asked, giving Delilah one last nudge with his nose playfully before pecking Albus’ cheek and walking away, climbing into the carriage Delilah pulled.

Albus held back a moment, taking in the horse-like creature and trying to see her the way Scorpius did. It was hard, Scorpius’ brain worked so differently to his. Scorpius could see beauty in everything, could see light in all the darkness, kindness even in evil. Albus had a hard time seeing all the good in the world and considering Scorpius had seen more evil than he could ever comprehend only goes to show the gold in his heart.

Delilah nudged him the way she had Scorpius, and Albus knew the year was going to be okay. For this kind creature was no bad omen. She was a reminder. That death was awful and unforgiveable and unforgettable. That death was dark and dangerous and scary. That death was permanent and plaguing and sudden. All that darkness and danger, all those nightmares plagued with death and here sprung a creature, full of kindness and love. A beauty in a whole load of ugly.

**Author's Note:**

> Idk what this was, just some drabble. But, I would appreciate your kudos and comments very much!


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